Suspect arrested in fatal shooting on April 3 in Arkansas City

Henry accused of second-degree murder; case remains under investigation

ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (April 8, 2020) — The Arkansas City Police Department has arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting that occurred April 3 in Arkansas City after he turned himself in Tuesday.

The shooting suspect, Christopher Robert Henry, 37, of Wichita, turned himself in about 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Arkansas City Police Department after a warrant previously was issued for his arrest.

Henry was arrested on suspicion of one felony count each of intentional second-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle. He was transported and booked into the Cowley County Jail in Winfield in lieu of $500,000 bond through Cowley County District Court in Arkansas City.

Henry remained in custody at the time of this release.

Police were dispatched about 12:53 p.m. April 3 to the 700 block of North B Street for a report of shots fired. Before officers arrived on the scene, the individuals involved in the incident allegedly left.

A short time later, officers located and stopped a vehicle in the 28000 block of U.S. 77 Bypass.

Police learned that one of the vehicle’s passengers, Jonathan Martinez, 28, of Arkansas City, had sustained an apparent gunshot wound to his abdomen.

Martinez was transported by the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department to South Central Kansas Medical Center. He was transported by air ambulance to a Wichita hospital, where he later passed away.

Henry and Martinez knew each other, and police said this was not a random shooting or “road rage.”

The Arkansas City Police Department was able to identify Henry quickly as a suspect due to the teamwork and assistance of the public and several other law enforcement agencies, including the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Wichita Police Department.

A defendant’s guilt or innocence is to be determined by a court of law.